Heat Sink/GPU Recomendations

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Sgt. Flathers

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Jul 18, 2010
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So I am turning 17 in 6 weeks and was thinking of what I would ask for my birthday. I already have a car and fully functional PC so I was thinking of simply upgrading some parts. The two things I'm looking for are a Heat Sink and a GPU (for those that don't read titles)

I want the heat sink so that I can comfortably start overclocking my machine, since it is running at the default clock right now.

I would like the newer GPU because the one I have was a year old when we bought this pc, 2 years ago.

Current PC specs:
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Processor 3.2ghz
ATI Radeon HD 5800 (MW2 Special Edition :O)
4GB Ram
 
Budget? What case and mobo are you using? The case will tell us what heatsink will fit and the mobo will tell us how much you should actually try OC'ing on it. With an X4 you ought to be fine, but we should still ask just in case you bought something with really weak VRMs.

Budget for the card as well? For a noticeable upgrade you're probably looking for at least $250 and cards are going up to $550 right now.
 
Sorry, got to quicly check the mobo and case, in the mean time budget really isn't an object under 600$ preferably. I just want to get some high end stuff, not over a thousand dollar high end though.

EDIT:
Case is an Antec Nine Hundred
MOBO is a "GIGABYTE Unltra Durable 3 Motherboard - GA-89OFXA-UD5"
 
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get a gtx 580
as for heatsink, depending on ur mobo+ram i would get the Noctua NH-D14. Make sure to check that your mobo and ram are compatible with it cus this thing is HUGE. will cover the first 2 ram slots
 
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The Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO is a great heatsink. It does an amazing job for it's price It's only a good $35, too. Would recommend to anybody.
 
Do you plan on overclocking your cpu? if not then u do not need a expensive heatsink cooler. u can (try to) get ur hands on the new 680s, if not the 7970s are also available for about $500. the 680s are slightly faster. to be honest you can get any of those 30 - 40$ heatsinks from newegg and they will get the job done.
 
OK, I think the 680 is probably my first choice
However I do plan on overclocking my CPU. No point in paying for a new one when I can just turn this one up (imo)
 
If you're really shooting for $600, a GTX 680/Radeon 7970 will be great for the card. And a [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Thermalright-Silver-Arrow-Universal-Cooler/dp/B007BO0VEI/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1335932494&sr=1-1-catcorr"]Thermalright Silver Arrow[/ame], [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-Heatpipe-Bearing-Cooler-NH-D14/dp/B002VKVZ1A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1335932265&sr=8-2"]Noctua NH-D14[/ame], or [ame="http://www.amazon.com/PHANTEKS-PH-TC14PE-Heat-Pipes-Premium-patented/dp/B005OREE38/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1335932480&sr=1-3"]Phanteks PH-TC14PE[/ame] would be awesome. If your RAM have tall heat-spreaders get a Thermalright Archon. If you need to save a few bucks, look at the [ame="http://www.amazon.com/ThermalRight-HR-02-MACHO-Thermalright-Macho/dp/B005ERSN7G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1335932265&sr=8-3"]Thermalright HR-02 Macho[/ame] or the [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-passed-Intels-testing-officially/dp/B00629G1PG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335932309&sr=8-1"]Thermalright TS-140[/ame]. They are phenomenal coolers for their price.

And I would not recommend the 212 Evo. It performs almost identically to the 212+, but costs $10 more. Not to mention, if you've got the money and want the performance there are definitely better heatsinks out there.
 
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Sgt. Flathers said:
OK, I think the 680 is probably my first choice
However I do plan on overclocking my CPU. No point in paying for a new one when I can just turn this one up (imo)
Click to expand...

Well that also depends on how extreme you plan on oc'ing. if its something like a simple 0.4-0.6 ghZ than a cooler master 212+ will be ur ideal heatsink cooler. around 30$. you don't want to spend any more than $70 on a heatsink unless ur trying to hit 4.5+ghz.
 
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Fear Feathers said:
Well that also depends on how extreme you plan on oc'ing. if its something like a simple 0.4-0.6 ghZ than a cooler master 212+ will be ur ideal heatsink cooler. around 30$. you don't want to spend any more than $50 on a heatsink unless ur trying to hit 4.5+ghz.
Click to expand...

He's got a Phenom X4, I don't think he'll break 4.5Ghz without at least DICE.
 
Well I've been trying to stream video and play games at the same time, on the same PC so 4.5ghz may be what I'm looking for (though I don't think I can even get there). I think I just need to see how far I actually need to turn it up for what I am doing, and what I plan on doing.
 
Most people with X4's are lucky to break 4.0Ghz for 24/7 usage. The highest I've seen for 24/7 is 4.2Ghz on a Thuban and that was under water. Please keep in mind that these are not Bulldozer, Sandy Bridge, or Ivy Bridge chips. They are all very, very different.
 
Also remember that for your first time, going for a max overclock might not be the best idea. Make sure you read up on lots of info and guides before attempting.
 
Alright thanks everyone, I think I have a good idea what to get now. Not gonna worry about how much to oc until I get my heat sink and read some guides. I'll probably upgrade my cpu in a bit after ivy bridge is out and when I have a job
 
Well.. Ivy bridge is out

And if you have a 600$ budget you could always get an ivy bridge with a new mobo a cooler and a place holder card till you get a job?

Also the 600 series seems to always be out of stock so you might have to look around to other sites that are not newegg or tiger direct.. but there is always the possibility that you will be lucky and will get one, however I have been checking for the past two weeks and they have been out of stock.
 
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